The flight marked the first time astronauts have launched from USA soil since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011.

The pilots of VSS Unity, a SpaceShipTwo-class space plane, returning from their trip to space. As of this writing, NASA is unable to send astronauts on its own to sub-orbit let alone to orbit.

Soon, the vehicle pointed nearly straight up, as it streaked through the same skies over the California desert where Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947.

In July, after burning the rocket motor for 42 seconds, the VSS Unity reached a height of 32 miles.

Richard Branson's space tourism business achieves a great milestone. "It was maybe tears of relief as well". In addition to the two pilots, SpaceShipTwo was also carrying a dummy to simulate a passenger and four unspecified research payloads that are part of the NASA Flight Opportunities Program. SpaceShipTwo returned to the earth's atmosphere and successfully landed just before 8:15 a.m.

Ultimately, the company aims to carry paying passengers on its spaceship, which is created to carry six people in addition to two pilots.

The achievement has been recognized by the FAA, which plans to award the flight's pilots in a ceremony next year. Future goals for the company include providing commercial spaceflights for paying passengers. But that may soon change.

The 68-year-old had been emotional throughout the flight, shedding many tears and hugging his son Sam as it eventually made its way to space altitudes. But the long-held view is the boundary is 62 miles. The company has its sights set on the small satellite industry, identifying a need that's not now being met by other launch providers, and its business model centers on proving low-priced access to space for existing companies, students, entrereneurs, and other types hoping to use space as part of their research or business endeavors. In October 2014, its spacecraft crashed during a test flight over the Mojave Desert, killing one of the pilots aboard and severely injuring the other.

As federal investigators investigated the crash, Branson pondered whether to continue, ultimately vowing to press on. This successful flight also makes Virgin Galactic the first commercial company to ever take human beings into space.

Branson has said he wants to be one of the first on board.

"Space is not cheap", he said.

"This is a test flight, a no-kidding test flight, with all the novelty and excitement and risk", said Mr Whitesides, on the eve of the flight. During the flight, the two men were able to experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the planet, the company said.

Police in the Charlotte suburb of Matthews said Sunday that the vehicle was traveling down a street when the tree fell on it. Virginia is under a state of emergency ahead of a winter storm that is expected to impact the Commonwealth on Sunday.

In one meeting Kelly allegedly called Trump "an idiot" and said it was "pointless to try to convince him of anything". Like his father-in-law, he left NY real estate to become one of Washington's most powerful political players.

Chang'e-3, launched in 2013, was the first Chinese spacecraft to soft-land on and explore an extraterrestrial object. It's expected to land in early January after 26 days of flight, said China's Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

"I think my knee brace just grabbed it and it just got dug into the wrong spot", Brady told WEEI's "Mut and Callahan" on Monday . The Chiefs defence forced a turnover but Harrison Butker missed from 43 yards with a potential game-winning field goal.

Pujara closed his till at Adelaide Oval with 194 runs to his name, pairing a first innings 123 with a second innings 71. And Lyon says Australia's bid for a record-breaking run chase to win an Adelaide Test could barely be in better hands.

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